A Thought on Comic Book Pricing

The jump from $2.99 to $3.99 is pretty substantial. First it was special issues with cardstock covers, then it was Marvel's most popular books, and then it was DC books (in the case of ongoing titles, they boosted value by adding backups, although some upcoming releases, such as the War one-shots, seem to be just priced at $3.99 regardless).

In any event, the move from $3 comics to $4 comics has happened. And yes, there are printing & distribution costs, talent costs, and the like. Inflation in those costs explains some of it. But the conspiracy theorist in me wonders:

Did we make the big jump from $3 to $4 comics so the publishers could price digital issues at $1.99 instead of cheaper?

At 2 bucks, the digital books are half the price of the print editions -- a steal! It they were only 33% off, they wouldn't seem quite the bargain, would they? I can't quite shake the feeling that for the past year or so, Marvel has been priming the pump for the digital rollout, by making the $1.99 price look good in comparison. (DC's jumpt to $3.99 has always seemed like they were playing catchup -- they wanted $3.99 books out there, since Marvel had 'em, but didn't necessarily have this endgame in place. Or at least, they've still got bupkis in digital, so who knows what their endgame is?)

Anyway... is this just me being paranoid? Or does this sound like a reasonable assumption?

Chris Fluit said:

I agree with you, Philip. I think they should have moved up to $3.50 rather than making the big jump all the way to $3.99. That $1 increase is pretty big.

My guess as to why they did it this way is that they knew they'd have to move to $3.99 eventually so they were better off doing it all at once, instead of having their customers get mad at them about increases now and again in two or three years.

I still think it was bad timing though, especially coming in the midst of a big recession.

For some things, little increases along the way can be pretty annoying. For example, where I live, the transit company is deeply in the red. It imposed a 10-cent-per-trip surcharge three months ago on buses and subway just to make it to the end of the fiscal year in July, whereupon it will impose, in the new fiscal year, across-the-board increases in the base prices plus higher fees during rush hour plus a surcharge at the six busiest subway stations plus increases in August because the increases in July aren't going to be enough.

I don't feel like they're doing us any favors by not just raising the prices to the August level right off. (I also wish they'd have a flat rate for the fare, like they do in New York, but that's another discussion.)

Replies

Figserello June 16, 2010 at 7:25pm

You outline a good case.

But my experience of comic publishing in the last 10 years makes me think they don't really work to much of a long-term plan.

Always on the hoof. However, the timeline you are suggesting ie they were looking only a year ahead, makes it just plausible that they were working to some kind of plan.
Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod) June 16, 2010 at 7:26pm

Good point, man. It's always spinning plates with these guys, eh?
ClarkKent_DC June 16, 2010 at 9:28pm

I don't think you're paranoid, but I don't think it's a reasonable assumption, either. And that's because I don't think the price of the one product -- the print comics -- is being priced to steer people toward the other product, the digital comics.

I think the price of the print products are what they are because the cost of making and distributing them calls for it; I think the digital comics can be cheaper because the distribution costs are far lower.
Jeff of Earth-J June 17, 2010 at 8:02am

During a family vacation one year to the Lake of the Ozarks we made our annual rest stop at Eldon, Mo. where we ate lunch at a roadside stand which sold foot-long hot dogs and was a short walk from the town bus station/newsstand. Comics at that time were “Still Only 35 Cents!” which meant, of course, a price increase was in the offing. I overheard a conversation between two “old timers”, the clerk and a customer. The customer was lamenting the price of something-or-other and the said if it got any more expensive he’d be forced to switch to reading “funny books” (the only time I’ve ever heard anyone use the term seriously). The clerk pointed out that comics were going up in price, too, and someday they’d be a dollar. I didn’t join the conversation, but I thought to myself, “…and that’s the day I’ll quite reading them.”

That day has come and gone long since but I think $4.00 is my limit.
Philip Portelli June 17, 2010 at 8:15am

I find it strange that the books jumped from $2.99 straight to $3.99. What happened to $3.29, $3.50, etc?
Chris Fluit June 17, 2010 at 8:40am

I agree with you, Philip. I think they should have moved up to $3.50 rather than making the big jump all the way to $3.99. That $1 increase is pretty big.

My guess as to why they did it this way is that they knew they'd have to move to $3.99 eventually so they were better off doing it all at once, instead of having their customers get mad at them about increases now and again in two or three years.

I still think it was bad timing though, especially coming in the midst of a big recession.
Philip Portelli June 17, 2010 at 8:49am

It's what stopping me from buying most of the Marvel minis and one-shots that they are endlessly producing. I dropped the entire Ultimate line and am bypassing all the upcoming Spider and Shadowland side-minis!
Jeff of Earth-J June 17, 2010 at 9:02am

Chris Fluit said:
My guess as to why they did it this way is that they knew they'd have to move to $3.99 eventually so they were better off doing it all at once...

Heh. That reminds me of a letter to “Dear Abby” I once read. A woman wrote to ask advice about her mother, who refused to drop a live lobster into a pot of boiling water because it would be “too cruel,” so instead put the poor animal into the cool tap water and set the pot on the burner so the lobster had a chance to “get used to it.”
Cavaliere (moderator emeritus) June 17, 2010 at 9:11am

Of the ten comics I bought last week, all of which were from the Big Two, only three (all Marvel) were 3.99. The rest were all still 2.99.

And, no. I don't think the jump to 4$ had anything to do with the pricing of digital comics. If they were offering same day releases in both print and digital then I'd be more inclined to believe it but that isn't the way things are. Yet.
ClarkKent_DC June 17, 2010 at 5:42pm

Chris Fluit said:
I agree with you, Philip. I think they should have moved up to $3.50 rather than making the big jump all the way to $3.99. That $1 increase is pretty big.

My guess as to why they did it this way is that they knew they'd have to move to $3.99 eventually so they were better off doing it all at once, instead of having their customers get mad at them about increases now and again in two or three years.

I still think it was bad timing though, especially coming in the midst of a big recession.

For some things, little increases along the way can be pretty annoying. For example, where I live, the transit company is deeply in the red. It imposed a 10-cent-per-trip surcharge three months ago on buses and subway just to make it to the end of the fiscal year in July, whereupon it will impose, in the new fiscal year, across-the-board increases in the base prices plus higher fees during rush hour plus a surcharge at the six busiest subway stations plus increases in August because the increases in July aren't going to be enough.

I don't feel like they're doing us any favors by not just raising the prices to the August level right off. (I also wish they'd have a flat rate for the fare, like they do in New York, but that's another discussion.)

of 3

This reply was deleted.